


The Façade Of A Designer

by Sunnshine_l



Series: Façade [1]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Angst, Angst and Feels, Emilie Agreste Lives, F/M, Gen, Good Gabriel Agreste | Papillon | Hawk Moth, Heartbreaking, Heavy Angst, I'm Sorry, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Lots of tears, Master Fu and Gabriel Agreste are friends, Medicine, No More Marinette POVs, Oops blackout, Original Fiction, Pain, Sad, Secrets, Self-Destruction, Self-Doubt, Self-Reflection, Sorry okay bye, too late
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-18
Updated: 2020-12-09
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:55:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 2,911
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27617275
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sunnshine_l/pseuds/Sunnshine_l
Summary: "I design to forget, even for just a moment".______________Book I of 'Façade' Series.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Lila Rossi, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Alya Césaire/Nino Lahiffe
Series: Façade [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2019169
Comments: 13
Kudos: 39





	1. Prologue

Once again she was alone in her room.

Staring into space as she looked at her reflection in the big glass window, 

She studied herself.

Her Asian features were the first thing she noticed.

No wonder she felt so different.

Because she wasn't like them.

She was an Asian.

A different race.

A half-Chinese.

That's why she couldn't feel welcome.

Because she was different.

So that's why she felt like an outcast.

So that's why she was constantly looked down upon.

So that's why she was always underestimated.

So that's why he couldn't love her.

She stood up from her chair and put on some music.

She started to work on her designs.

The whirring of the machine accompanied the song, it relaxed her.

It reminded her of home.

It made her feel like she belonged.

Even if it was just a short moment.


	2. One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eyoooow! For more updates, follow me on instagram! IG: @princessesunn

She walked down the halls of Gabriel, heading to a nearby cafe to get a latte and to clear her head.

Alya, Rose, Juleka, Mylene, Alix, Lila and Chloe didn't even pay attention to her. Yes, Lila and Chloe are now part of the squad ever since the day Lila stopped lying and Chloe realized it would be better to be nice, Marinette had learned to love them as her friends and forgive them for everything they did.

It's actually kind of funny how they ended up working at the same place.

Alya was a journalist for the Gabriel blog. Rose and Mylene were part of the Background Design Committee. Alix ended up being an Accountant for the monthly budget. While Lila and Chloe were models.

Well they used to include her in everything and then suddenly everything changed. They were having fun and that was all that mattered. They didn't even spare her a glance when she told them that she'd be going out.

There was no use listening to their conversation as she was invisible to them. She wore a cap and mask to hide her face so that her haters wouldn't recognize her as MDC, the Senior Designer at Gabriel.

Actually, she didn't know what her friends thought of her anymore. It's just like it's the seven of them only. There was no little Marinette Dupain-Cheng in their world.

Who was she kidding? She was from a different race. A different country. She's an alien. It's no wonder they don't care about her.

But being the Marinette she was, she still guided them, supported them, and loved them. She didn't care if they pushed her away or treated her differently. They were family and that's all that matters.

Her latte came but she just stared at it. The cup condensing from the cold. The whip cream sinking into the liquid. The ice was melting.

And suddenly her cheeks were wet. She didn't know why she was crying, but she did know she didn't want to be seen doing so.

She quickly stood up, grabbing her drink and exited the cafe. She threw her cup into the bin and ran as fast as she could, her mask dangling from her ear and her cap blew off her head.

A few heads turned. Was she recognized? She couldn't care less.

She ran until she reached Gabriel, a few staff looked at her weirdly, but all she wanted to do was be in her studio.

Swiping her ID, she got into the room and collapsed on the floor.

No one would hear her cry as the room was soundproof.

Because that's all she can do. Cry. Alone. Because no one wants to be with her. Because she's Marinette Dupain-Cheng. A Half-Chinese who can never fit it.

She missed home, it was the only place she felt like she belonged.

The next thing she knew, a drilling pain shot through her head, she clutched it so hard she knew it was going to leave a mark. She couldn't take the pain anymore. So she did the one thing she knows would help decrease pain a little.

She screamed.


	3. Two

It had been six months since that day. Nothing had changed, for the most part.

Marinette sat on her bed in the room she shared with Lila. Yes, Lila.

To be honest, she was grateful to have the brunette as her roommate. She was the only friend who actually paid attention to her, or asked her about her well being.

Said girl popped her head in the doorway at the moment. 

“Hey, Mari! Monsieur G wants us in the meeting room in about… 35 minutes”

The black-blue haired girl smiled and started to get ready, Lila had already gone to the department this morning and she was already dressed.

Marinette chose to wear ^^^.

Upon getting out the room, she saw that Lila was waiting for her. 

“Let’s go?” She smiled.

The two locked elbows with each other, the girl telling Marinette about her day and asking about her. But as they neared the building and spotted the other girls, Lila slipped her elbow out of the other’s and went to Alya and gushed about stuff.

Specifically, boys.

Marinette trailed behind them and looked at her shoes.

When Rose opened the door, a shout was heard.

“I can’t be with Marinette! I love Kagami too much!”

Everyone’s eyes were on Marinette, her crush on him was painstakingly obvious one everyone but him.

The other boys, Kim, Max, Nino, Ivan, Marc and Nathanael greeted them.

Gabriel pinched the bridge of his nose and motioned everyone to sit down.

Marinette looked at Adrien, who glared at her, so she looked down on her lap.

The drilling pain slowly seeped in and the floor seemed to sway. She closed her eyes hoping it would stop the pain, but it didn’t, so she unconsciously grabbed on to Juleka’s arm for support.

When she opened her eyes, all attention was on her, again.

“Are you okay, M?” Alya asked.

The girl smiled and shook off their concerns.

“Yeah, you look a little pale” Alix said.

Once again, the girl smiled. “I’m fine guys, it’s just that, I’m really exhausted from everything, our schedule has been hectic last week, no?”

Lila handed Marinette a bottle of water and some pills, which the girl took immediately.

She looked over to Adrien and couldn’t fathom how he was feeling. Guilt? Regret?

Fu chose that time to enter, he was an investor for the next line and started to discuss what was going to happen and how he wanted it to happen. The theme for the line was “Chinese Culture”.

Everything was well until Gabriel chose to speak.

“Now that the line is out of the way, I would like to discuss not how my son acted a while ago,” he stared at Adrien, who stared back, “but rather, what had caused it”.

“I told you! I do not want to be with her! I’m already in a relationship!”

At the fall of those words, Marinette’s heart broke even more.

“You will both be in a relationship to the public eye, you can still date Kagami, but you should be careful not to get caught, as it would cast numerous scandals” Gabriel said, addressing Adrien’s concerns.

For the first time in forever, Marinette’s heart did not jump for joy, instead it cracked a bit more. Yes, she wanted to be with Adrien, but hearing that he’d still be with Kagami just… *sigh*

“That would be all, you are dismissed”

As soon as he said those words, Marinette dashed out of the room and ran to her studio, she collapsed on the floor and started to cry, no one would be there to see her, not even Tikki.

Tikki knew that Marinette didn’t want anyone to see her cry, so she hid.

And as she thought it couldn’t get any worse. Her phone rang

_Akuma._


	4. Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi im backkkk! School has been hecTIC and I hate it, but I need it to become a lawyer. >:<<<  
> Anywayyyyyy.... sorry i might not be able to update again soon, cuz its only 1 week left in school and we call it HELL WEEK. It's when everything's due and we need to pass it or we fail. (Also, because of what's down there :|||)

As soon as they defeated the akuma, Clown Queen, who was akumatized because no one took her seriously so she wanted to make everything a joke or funny, Ladybug was pulled with Chat Noir, he wanted to talk, he said.

They sat down at the top of the Eiffel Tower admiring the view.

Chat chose to speak first.

“So… You were kinda out of it today,” he looked at her, “what happened?”

To say that Marinette was surprised was an understatement, ever since six months ago when Adrien and Kagami started dating, Chat had started to be cold to her. It was also the time the headaches started.

As always, Ladybug smiled, a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes, but enough to convince Chat Noir that she was.

“Just civilian life being tiring” she said as her feet dangled below the railings.

Normally, he would have pushed and asked her even more about it, but now? He just nodded and left. And that was one of the reasons, her soul kept getting crushed, Chat Noir was one of the constants in her life, and after the Miracle Queen events, being bestowed upon the Miracle Box, Adrigami being a thing, she was willing to give him a chance.

Oh, only if he waited a bit longer, but she guessed it was how life works. Unfair.

* * *

_6 Months Later…_

The past few months had been looking up for Marinette, everything was seemingly falling into place, her friends started hanging around her even more, she and Adrien have been getting along really good, their Chinese line was a success. Everything was perfect.

Juleka popped her head in the apartment’s kitchen. “Hey, I’m going out for coffee, any requests?”

“I’ll have an americano,” said Alya, “Ooh! Ooh! Me too!” Mylene said, “Me three!” Alix added.

“A dark mocha frappe for me!” Lila requested.

“I’ll have a honey-vanilla frappe!” Chloe hollered.

Everyone was done saying theirs, Rose had volunteered to come with Juleka since there were so many orders.

“What about you, Marinette?” Mylene asked.

“I think I’ll have a latte” she said and smiled, a genuine, real smile.

The two took off and the girls settled to chatting, involving Marinette too, while waiting for the coffee. Meanwhile, because Chloe was cooking, she served everyone some sandwiches and a glass of chilled water.

As Marinette took a sip of the water, the pain shot through her head, and she closed her eyes, her knuckles turning white as she gripped the glass so hard, she thought she was going to break it.

Opening her eyes, she saw everyone’s attention on her. 

“You okay, girl?” Alya asked.

Marinette smiled and nodded, “Yeah, just got a brain freeze. Excuse me…”.

She made a beeline for the bathroom and locked the door. She quickly noticed her breaths were quick and shallow, she dampened her face with water. 

“You can do this, Marinette” she looked at her reflection in the mirror, “You can hide it”.

She exited the bathroom feeling lightheaded. She wanted to let them know that she was going to take a quick nap, and to wake her up when the coffee comes.

‘For them’ she thought.

When she prompted to speak, she felt as if the whole room was spinning, she couldn’t move, and before she knew it, she collapsed.

“Marinette!” was the last thing she heard before everything went black.

* * *

Upon arriving at the apartment’s grounds, a crying Lila and yelling Chloe was what greeted Rose and Juleka, they both took it as a sign of something wrong.

They quickly rushed up to their shared apartment and opened the door. They heard yelling and probably Alya’s screaming.

And as they saw what happened, the beverages fell to the floor, it’s contents spilling out.

Luckily, the ambulance came fast enough, they quickly put Marinette on the stretcher and had to put a [Midazolam](https://www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplements/midazolam-injection-route/description/drg-20064813) on Alya because she was screaming.

She had gone mad.

She was screaming for Marinette to come back.

She was begged for her to stay with them.

She was telling her to not leave them.

Even if she knew herself that the girl was gone...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So.... I'm just going to hide in my evil lair for a week to do my homework and also to not die.... As always, please leave comments (I wanna know, no wait, I nEED to KnOw) and a kudos would mean the world to me! 
> 
> IG: @princessesunn


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okaayyyy so I just did this, I haven't slept yet, so it isn't beta-read. I just wanna say thank you to everyone who stayed with me through book one of the Facade series, don't worry only 4 days left and school will be over, then I'll write book two.

Marinette was rushed to the hospital half an hour ago, the girls were waiting outside the emergency room.

They were all worried, because they had known for a while that something was bothering Marinette, so they tried to make her happy, and even though their crying had gone out, their anxiety didn’t.

Their musings were interrupted by a doctor coming out of the room, the girls hounded around him asking all sorts of questions, but he dismissed it all.

“Who is the family of the patient?” he asked.

Juleka raised her hand, since she was the oldest, she knew what to do. 

The doctor took off his glasses and his surgical mask, “I’m sorry the patient did not make it”.

Everyone started crying again, though this time it was quieter.

“She suffered from a Brain Tumor,” he said, “did she tell any of you this?”

The girls shook their heads, “We planned to take her to China for a week to spend time with her parents, but now it isn’t going to happen, because…” Lila trailed off, suppressing a sob.

“I’m very sorry,” the doctor said and left.

The emergency room’s door suddenly burst open, revealing the boys.

Ali looked at Rose who shook her head and that’s when they knew, 

She was gone.

Alya marched up to Adrien, who looked scared for his life.

“You’re so lucky!” she said while tears fell from her olive cheeks.

“How?” he asked, clearly confused as her friend just died and he was complimenting him?

“You don’t get it do you?” she stated, as the blonde shook his head.

“She loved you, you oblivious idiot!”

Adrien gulped, he didn’t really know, he just thought it was all for the promotion of the Chinese x French Line. He thought it was just for show.

Ivan moved closer to Alya in an attempt to calm her down. “Alya, take it eas-”

Keyword: attempt.

“NO!” she shouted, “Do you know what she did last night?”

She gripped her hair, clearly frustrated as she was crying and shouting, trying to explain to the stupid blond idiot that her best friend, who just died, loved him!

“She woke up in the middle of the night, and I followed her to the park” Alya explained her voice cracking every now and then, her crying turned into sobs, “And that’s when she saw you kissing Kagami!”

The blonde looked down, he knew what happened last night.

Alya laughed, “and you know what the worst of it was? She smiled! She smiled a bittersweet smile that I hope to do with my lover one day. She chose to be strong and happy for you, even if it broke her heart! You are so fucking lucky, Adrien. You’re so lucky that a Marinette Dupain-Cheng loved you!”

At the end of her ultimatum, Adrien couldn’t speak and Alya fainted.

But her side of the story was one he’d never seen, his however, was different.

//

_ Kagami slid her hands up to his neck, leaning in for a kiss, but just as she was about to reach his lips, he pulled away. _

_ “What’s wrong, Adrien?” his lover asked. _

_ No, he didn’t want to hurt her, yet he didn’t want to lie to himself. He must tell her, even if it gets her to be akumatized. She said it herself, she can handle anything. _

_ “I- I can’t do this anymore, Kagami” _

_ She didn’t speak and looked away, obviously hurt. _

_ After what seemed like hours, which was only a matter of seconds, she spoke. _

_ “Who is she?” _

_ “Who?” _

_ “You know who I’m talking about, Adrien! Don’t play stupid with me! I want to know who the girl is!” _

_ Adrien sighed, Kagami knew him too well, well no use lying now. _

_ “It’s- it’s Marinette, the Senior Designer at my father’s company” he admitted. _

_ When he said the name, the Japanese girl turned and walked away. Leaving him alone. He too, turned around, and when he did he caught a familiar pair of bluebell eyes. _

_ Marinette? _

_ The figure walked away and he tried to follow her, yet he failed, so he simply turned around and went home, thinking of why she was out so late at night. _

_ // _

When he was snapped out of his thoughts, he saw that he was alone, slowly, he leaned onto the wall for support.

“Why?” he asked no one in particular, “Why did you have to leave when I realized I loved you?

**-end of book one-**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AANNNND THAT'S ITTTT!!! Hope to see y'all again soon! PLEASE COMMENT DOWN WHAT YOU THOUGHT OF BOOK ONE CUZ HONESTLY I DUNNO IF I WILL WRITE A SECOND ONE OR NO.... SO YEAHHH OKAY THANKS AGAIN GUYS!


	6. Book II

Heya everyone!

I just wanted to let you all know that school is ending in about 2-3 days, December 12 (depending on where you are, i'm in Asia lol).

Anywayyy, a lot of people DM'ed me and a few commented, they all told me to make a second book of this series and honestly, I can't thank you all for the support you are giving me!

Also, I'm sorry to say that my Instagram account, @princessesunn, has been deleted, someone accused me of stealing someone else's work which is NOT true, I have drafts of all my writings and I get the prompts from Pinterest or Google. If you wanna see proof, just comment you email address below and I'll send you the link.

Sooooo, yeah, I promise I will write it over Christmas break! Thankyouallomgicantevennnn! <3

Book II : _The Façade Of A (“Used To Be”) Liar_

I think we all know who's POV that's gonna be...

Anyway, hope you have a great day! Thank you all againnn! 

Your Princesse,

Sunn


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